A bloody rebellion by Albanian guerrillas demanding equal rights in Macedonia has killed and wounded thousands of people and led to fears that the crisis will embroil Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece. International intervention brought an uneasy halt to the blood-letting last summer, but hardline Macedonian nationalists have blocked full implementation of the peace agreement and there are now fears that the National Liberation Army will renew its campaign, leading to more ethnic cleansing in the heart of Europe. Phillips covers the front line fighting as well as the behind-the-scenes diplomacy in Skopje and shows just how damaging the present conflict is for any hope of a lasting Balkan peace.

John Phillips has been a correspondent with The Times of London since 1992, covering Italy as well as the Croatian and Bosnian wars. Since 2000 he has worked as a Special Correspondent for The Times in the Balkans, reporting on the overthrow of Milosevic in Yugoslavia and the conflicts in Macedonia and Serbia.